Floral arrangements that provide groupings of one or many types of flowers and plants are well known. They can be used as decorations for events such as weddings or funerals, given as gifts to loved ones, enjoyed during holidays or celebrations, or used for many other purposes.
Customers who wish to purchase a floral arrangement normally have been limited to purchasing pre-made arrangements at stores or using florists to create arrangements for them. Customers who use florists generally select an arrangement design based on photographs from a book, catalog, or website, or tell the florist the type of design or types of flowers the customer desires. However, it is the florist, not the customer, who actually selects each individual flower and determines where to place it within an arrangement. The florist often needs to interpret a two dimensional photograph into a three dimensional physical floral arrangement. The florist can also decide to substitute flowers similar in appearance to the ones selected by the customer based on need or on available inventory. As a result, the final arrangement often looks different than the photographed design the customer selected or the customized design the customer had in mind. Requiring the customer to pick a design from a book or catalog can also be problematic because the books or catalogs can be heavy, bulky and have a limited number of designs. Books and catalogs can also become quickly outdated, which requires that new books or catalogs be printed periodically.